Long have I desired to make a shawl like the crocheters of old, my kin. Soft and white, with picots and scallops, arches and lattice work, reminiscent of the doilies which seemed to effortlessly slip off Nanny’s crochet hook. Not glaring white, but a creamy white, as if mellowed and yellowed with age. I am not my grandmother, so not in crochet thread (let’s get real here, I’d never finish it), but in a DK weight, with a larger hook, soft as butter and light as a dream.

So when requests came for a larger version of “First Love,” I thought to make it in a cream colored bamboo-blend, and expand it by adding another section. And naturally, it should have a name like “First Love,” but, well… bigger! So I call it “Big Love.” (What’s that, you thought this would be a shawl somehow involved in a polygamous relationship? No, no, sorry to disappoint; it was meant as a monogamous shawl… however, there ARE multiple size options…)

It can be made in a few days, if you put in the time each day. Else a few weeks, if you’re a slacker, or someone who has a job, or a life. I’ll admit the last row, with all those picots, can be a bit tedious, but it’s worth it (since you are a crocheter, you understand about picots; they’re a pain in the @$$, but so impressive to show off when you’re done). And think, what if it was a bedspread in crochet thread? That’s what MY Nanny used to make! So compared to crochet work in the Olden Days, we’re getting off easy, even with all the picots!